Smitten: Part I-Zerrin

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  SNEAK PEEK: Bitten- Part II-Zerrin

  Bitten

  (Part II: Zerrin )

  By

  Patria L. Dunn

  Copyright © 2012 Patria L. Dunn (Patria Dunn-Rowe)

  All rights reserved

  Not Myself

  It was the same dream I had over and over again; the tiny voice coming through the fog louder and louder, causing the scene in front of me to blur and scatter into jagged pieces. I looked up immediately, expecting to see my parents standing just beyond the chasm I knew I would never cross, its depths reaching dark and black into nothingness; but they weren’t there this time. The fog in my head grew thicker, seeping out from behind me, casting everything into shadows, so that I could no longer tell where I was. I tried calling for them, hoping that they would be there…hoping that maybe this time I would be able to ask them the question that had burned in my mind since the moment I’d looked into Jonas’s eyes. Should I go with him…?

  “Lana…”

  It was Jonas’s voice that called to me, the melody so sweet that I couldn’t help but turn in the direction from which it came.

  “What’s keeping you here…?”

  “My parents…they were right over there,” I pointed now to the other side of the black hole, my eyes widening as Jonas appeared across from me, his hands outstretched as if to question why I was still standing there.

  He wants me to jump…I realized just as the grass began to give way, turning into tiny emeralds this time, my feet sliding downward before I could reach for him. The air grew thinner as I knew it would and I breathed deeply as Jonas called to me again, his song pulling me so that there was no need for me to take the leap.

  I watched as the chasm widened, a roar erupting from somewhere deep below as the sides gave way, a billow of dust surrounding me just as I reached to grab Jonas’s outstretched fingers.

  For an instant I touched him, my feet reaching for the safety of solid ground.

  BANG! BANG! BANG!

  My fingers jerked free, falling limply to my side as I looked behind me in confusion, a blinding white light coming faster than I had time to move.

  “No…! Take me with you!” I tried to scream as Jonas faded from view, his electric blue eyes holding mine for a moment before I started to fall.

  “Lana! Lana!”

  Roman’s voice was panicked, his face blurring in front of me as I opened my eyes slowly.

  Jonas…

  “Let me use you…” Is what he’d asked of me.

  I was still in the tub, fully dressed, but Jonas was gone.

  “What did you do to him?!” I accused as I shot straight up, blue water dotting the bathroom floor, and the front of Roman’s shirt as he jumped backwards from the spray.

  “You weren’t at the bus stop… I came looking for you! I don’t know where your boyfriend is,” Roman snapped, shaking his head as he stormed out of the bathroom.

  “Lana, Lana!” Shelly’s squeaky voice set my head to a maximum throb, my hands covering my face as I stepped dripping wet from the cold bath water.

  “You’re blue!” She exclaimed as she stopped just outside the bathroom, her mouth falling open at the puddle that was spreading around my feet.

  “Give me a minute…” I managed, pushing the door closed on her before she could protest.

  I heard Thomas in the hall now, asking a thousand questions about me that I was sure Shelly would make up an answer for. I blocked the two of them out, flipping the drain on the tub before moving to the sink. Most of the mirror still remained, cracked from the middle and casting my reflection back at me in a jagged puzzle. My face was coated with something, and I rubbed, leaning closer as bits of it fell away into the sink, my fingers gritty.

  “Salt…” I whispered out loud, rubbing harder now to free my skin of the tiny crystals.

  I’d asked him to change me… I remembered that much. My cheeks grew bright red from embarrassment as I recalled how I’d ended up in the tub. I’d practically crawled on top of him…begging him. He’d left me there…alone…

  My eyes met my reflection, studying my face carefully for any signs of change. A mermaid’s tear…and a bite…His words came back to me as my fingers reached for the spot on my neck I hadn’t realized was sore until now. Did he…?

  Confusion pulled through me as I rubbed the spot free of the salt that coated my entire body. Sure enough, four tiny red dots lay just inside the dip of my collarbone, barely visible. My hands shook as I rubbed my fingers over my skin, wondering how long I had left here. I needed more answers, but before I could go find Jonas, I needed a shower.